SAN ANTONIO – A suspect is behind bars after allegedly pretending to be a border patrol agent and threatening passing drivers with a firearm on Christmas Eve.
Just before 2:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, police were called to the scene near the corner of West French Place and Grant Avenue, just north of Downtown.
According to police, they had received multiple calls about a elderly man threatening passing motorists with a firearm.
When olice arrived, they found 76-year-old Oswaldo Ponce and detained him as he was walking back to his residence.
Investigators say that a firearm was located in the suspect’s possession, he had a nondescript badge on his belt, and he was wearing a hat that implied he was a border patrol agent.
Witnesses told investigators that Ponce had walked up to several people who were driving past the location, pointed a firearm at them while threatening to shoot them, and demanded to see their “papers.”
Police say that Ponce appeared to have been having a mental health crisis. He was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, as well as Impersonating a Public Servant.